Aging of the vasculature is associated with detrimental changes in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) mechanosensitivity to extrinsic forces in their surrounding microenvironment. However, how chronological aging alters VSMCs' ability to sense and adapt to mechanical perturbations remains unexplored โฆ
Epithelial cells can become polyploid upon tissue injury, but mechanosensitive cues that trigger this state are poorly understood. Using ฮฑ-catenin (ฮฑ-cat) knock-out Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells reconstituted with wild-type and mutant forms of ฮฑ-cat as a model system, we find that an establ โฆ
The actin cortex is an active biopolymer network underneath the plasma membrane at the periphery of mammalian cells. It is a major regulator of cell shape through the generation of active cortical tension. In addition, the cortex constitutes a mechanical shield that protects the cell during mechanical agitation. Cortical mechanics is tightly controlled by the presence of actin cross-linking proteins, that dynamically bind and unbind actin filaments. Cross-linker actin bonds are weak non-covalent bonds whose bond lifetime is likely affected by mechanical tension in the actin cortex making cortical composition inherently mechanosensitive. Here, we present a quantitative study of changes in cortex composition and turnover dynamics upon short-lived peaks in active and passive mechanical tension in mitotic HeLa cells. Our findings disclose a twofold mechanical reinforcement strategy of the cortex upon tension peaks entailing i) a direct catch-bond mechanosensitivity of cross-linkers filamin and $ฮฑ$-actinin and ii) an indirect cortical mechanosensitivity that triggers actin cortex reinforcement via enhanced polymerization of actin. We thereby disclose a `molecular safety belt' mechanism that protects the cortex from injury upon mechanical challenges.
Aging of the vasculature is associated with detrimental changes in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) mechanosensitivity to extrinsic forces in their surrounding microenvironment. However, how chronological aging alters VSMCs' ability to sense and adapt to mechanical perturbations remains unexplored โฆ
Immune cells live intensely physical lifestyles characterized by structural plasticity, mechanosensitivity, and force exertion. Whether specific immune functions require stereotyped patterns of mechanical output, however, is largely unknown. To address this question, we used super-resolution tractio โฆ
Clinical and animal studies have reported the influence of sex on the incidenceandprogression of tendinopathy, which results indisparate structural andbiomechanical outcomes.However, there remains a paucity in our understanding of the sex-specific biological mechanisms underlyingeffective tendon hea โฆ
There is tremendous interest in developing hydrogels as tunable <i>in vitro</i> cell culture platforms to study cell response to mechanical cues in a controlled manner. However, little is known about how common cell culture techniques, such as serial expansion on tissue culture plastic, affect subse โฆ
Rxiv mechanobio
Rxiv mechanobio